As commuters grapple with icy roads, more snow on the way

By AMY ROLPH, P-I REPORTER

Published 10:00 pm, Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Seattle could be back at square one Wednesday morning.

A fresh layer of snow is predicted for the morning of Christmas Eve, meaning streets might need to be re-plowed, slush could be replenished and those out on the roads might be in for a slippery morning. Another one.

Snow is likely to hit the Seattle area sometime Tuesday night and continue to fall Wednesday morning. And the forecast is calling for overnight temperatures that dip into the mid and upper 20s.

Tuesday evening, state road crews were strategically positioned up and down the Interstate-5 corridor, waiting for flakes to fall or ice to form. Highways in the Seattle region were mostly clear Tuesday, though authorities were warning drivers to be wary of black ice.

Planes were taking off from the Seattle--Tacoma International Airport Tuesday, a relief after days of cancelation and delays.

There were a handful of delays Tuesday, but not due to snow or slush in Seattle. Some flights coming or going from hubs such as Minneapolis, Chicago and Atlanta have kept passengers waiting -- but that's because of conditions at those airports, Sea-Tac spokesman Perry Cooper said..

"We're busy, but it's a good busy," he said, noting long lines at security checkpoints meant passengers had boarding passes and were heading for takeoff.

He said airport officials weren't anticipating that overnight snowfall would greatly impact Christmas Eve flights -- as long as meteorologists are correct in predicting only as much as four inches of snow for the airport. Snowplows and deicer should be sufficient to clear runways for takeoff in those conditions.

"If it starts to turn into more, that's when it becomes problematic," Cooper said.

Wednesday will mark the start of Metro's seventh day with reduced bus service around King County, with more than 100 routes canceled and others operating on modified schedules to avoid treacherous stretches of road.

Almost a week of waiting for buses that sometimes don't come -- or come but don't stop because they're already too full -- took a toll on riders Tuesday.

"I have to say that I'm rather disappointed with Metro...," said bus-commuter Sherri Thompson in an e-mail to seattlepi.com. "There were more buses the first few days of snow than there are now! It's making me crazy! Hitchhiking has been my only option, other than walking the five miles every day."

"Being passed four or five times just kills your appetite to try again," Metro rider Kevin Hope said in another e-mail.

Metro was reinforcing its fleet Tuesday, preparing for the possibility of more snow. The agency was expecting 1,500 new sets of tire chains to arrive just in time for new snowfall, a Metro spokeswoman said

Sound Transit's rail service is on a holiday schedule all this week, though no trains will run Dec. 25.

Amtrak Cascade train routes and Greyhound bus service were operating on normal schedules Tuesday, following weather-related delays. It wasn't clear if more snow Wednesday would change that.